BHV Herhaling

After a week of writing presentations and reviewing code, I had a nice break today, with my annual refresher course for the BHV. For those not in the know, this stands for bedrijfshulpverlening, and involves basic first aid and firefighting, with the idea that volunteers within the office could provide on the spot help, before the emergency services arrive.

I travelled to RICAS in Zoetemeer for the course - a nice 13 km bike ride through the fields, and had perfect weather for it. The course itself was pepped up by the presence of two volunteers from Lotus, an organization which provides fake victims for training courses. During the morning we had to deal with a heart attack and a knife wound to the arm, courtesy of the volunteers, who played their parts admirably.

In the afternoon we played firefighter, using carbon dioxide and foam fire extinguishers, and then had the opportunity to split into small groups to put together our own scenario for another group of BHVers to test their skills. My group was given the task of rescuing someone from a building with a small fire, complete of course with handling the panicking victims!

All in all an instructive day, which also gave a good opportunity to meet some colleagues from other departments.

(photo from RICAS)